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Comment by lumberingjack | Hacker News Reader

I was just in Yellowstone so much is still unknown about it and the more I read about it and saw the more afraid I became of it. At one point we saw a crater the size of a city block it was a geyser then in the 80s exploded and killed a few people. I got to thinking "WTF are we doing here this thing is going to blow at any time!?"

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In Bill Bryson's book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, he talks about the dangers of Yellowstone and how catastrophic the eruption would be, however, he also points out that these potential eruptions are often preceded by a period of elevated signs of volcanic activity, which as I understand, Yellowstone is not currently experiencing. Of course, geological timelines are impossible to predict, but until I read that book, I didn't even know Yellowstone was dangerous and wouldn't have found out until reading this article.

A slight correction -- in the book, he says explicitly that we think it would come with elevated signs of activity. But 1/ we have no idea, since we have very little knowledge of the last eruption; and 2/ there are large variations in activity currently -- we have no idea if we would be able to differentiate the current "everything seems okay" increased activity from "SHTF" activity.

I live near Yellowstone (as in going there, seeing the sights and going home is a day trip with time to spare) and always tell people that we're the lucky ones. If the Yellowstone volcano ever goes in our lifetime we'll die instantly. If it goes off, most of the populated world is going to die anyways, might as well be the first.

Yes, but it doesn't have to be this way. That is the whole point of the article.

what are property taxes like?

Something like 0.79% assessed value in my country on average. It's supposedly one of the lowest in the nation. The general cost of living is pretty low when compared to most places in the States and being so close to Yellowstone and other national and state parks is nice.

Serious question: is your house insured against volcano?

No, I'm pretty sure there would be no one to make a claim even if they were.

Eruptions are preceded by earthquakes, venting and other events. I think there is a good chance people would evacuate from a smaller eruption (verses a life on earth extinction event)

I don't know what displays they have there. But I'll mention that it's very interesting to see the "trail" it has etched across the western side of the continent. Vast geological topology and constructs are now attributed to it. As well, its forecast future path is interesting.

Just like the Hawaiian spot has left a chain of islands and sea mounts in its wake, the Yellowstone hotspot is -- slowly -- on the move.

IIRC, there was another spot that moved through the southern U.S. and broke the then extant mountain chain that curved westward from the current Appalachian chain. The famous open-air "you pick it" diamond mine in Arkansas might be attributable to it.

On a separate note, its National Aeronautic and Space Administration. Not just "Space". The next time some political bozo complains about the Earth "not being its mission. As well, studying the Earth provides NASA and others insight into what they encounter and will encounter on other planets -- out there in space. Meaning not just direct visitations, but also interpreting collected signals (telescopes et al.)

Anyway, in addition to that, I'm glad SOMEBODY is studying the Earth. We didn't develop our modern society by turning away from the facts and experience in front of our eyes.

> I don't know what displays they have there. But I'll mention that it's very interesting to see the "trail" it has etched across the western side of the continent. Vast geological topology and constructs are now attributed to it. As well, its forecast future path is interesting.

There's a good display of this at one of the visitors centers within the park.

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